Retail + Digital

Monthly Archives: February 2017

For the launch of its February Collection last week, British luxury brand Burberry combined a livestream from its London Fashion Week runway show with in-store shopping drama as soon as the video feed had finished.

What was clever about this See Now Buy Now phygital retail execution (the brand’s second foray into the new in-season way of selling direct to consumers) is the way Burberry managed to translate the live emotion straight from the runway to the rails. The Burberry Regent Street flagship store was buzzing with VIP guests trying on the new range on the night it launched, and the store was pre-merchandised to replicate the styling from the show.

Burberry Makers House, February Collection at London Fashion Week, February 2017

That brand excitement was translated further via a week-long exhibition/showroom space called Makers House, that focused on storytelling the creative process behind this season’s collection. Alongside the full runway collection merchandised on an army of mannequins (and available to order via the Regent Street store), the Soho exhibition space housed inspirational installations, an interactive photography studio and a virtual reality experience allowing visitors to view artist Henry Moore’s studio space, the sculptor that provided the original context and starting point for the whole collection. At the exhibition entrance and ground floor area, visitors were greeted by 78 bespoke shoulder capes – all hand-crafted using materials referenced throughout the collection – and a haute-couture worthy reminder of the brand’s luxury status. This mix of culture, inspiration and immersive storytelling was a lesson in modern luxury brand engagement.

Why it’s special: The British luxury brand is a leader in putting its physical store experience front and centre to a cultural-commerce campaign that encompasses both See Now Buy Now as well as digital, and experiential storytelling.